Fact Check: Did Howard Stern lose nearly 1M subscribers after his interview with Harris?
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A rumor circulated online suggesting that radio personality Howard Stern lost nearly 1 million subscribers following his interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, in the weeks leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
The Facebook page 'America - Love It Or Leave It' mentioned this in a post on October 9 and as per its claims, Stern reportedly lost nearly a million subscribers within an hour following his "big interview" with Harris.
Rumors of subscriber loss debunked as satirical content misinterpreted by some readers
Some readers appeared to mistake the rumor for an accurate depiction of actual events. Nonetheless, there was no substantiated evidence to suggest a decrease in Howard Stern's subscription figures, as reported by fact-checking website Snopes.
Stern still has 2.34 million subscribers on his YouTube channel.
The rumor that Stern faced repercussions following his interview with Harris originated from 'America - Love It Or Leave It', a social media account connected to America's Last Line of Defense (ALLOD).
This account characterizes its content as satirical or humorous, as stated on its main Facebook page, "A subsidiary of the America's Last Line of Defense network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real."
ALLOD is known for fabricating stories to garner shares and comments, occasionally utilizing artificial intelligence writing software for its narratives.
Howard Stern and Donald Trump's longstanding friendship turns sour
The fictional narrative gained traction following Howard Stern's critique of Kamala Harris' adversary, former president Donald Trump, and his vice-presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, during the interview with the vice president.
'The Howard Stern Show' host brought up the fact that Trump pulled out of his '60 Minutes' interview at the last minute, citing fact-checking among a variety of other reasons ."I mean, it just says so much. He didn't want to be fact-checked. This is maddening. This is insanity. What do you mean you don't want to be fact-checked?"
Howard Stern and Trump have been acquainted for many years. During a 2004 appearance on Stern's radio show, they engaged in a conversation about Trump's daughter, Ivanka.
"By the way, your daughter," Stern said.
"She's beautiful," Trump remarked.
"Can I say this? A piece of a**," Stern asked.
"Yeah," Trump said.
The relationship has deteriorated over time. Recently, Stern labeled Trump supporters as "stupid," to which Trump retorted by accusing Stern of becoming "woke," as per Rolling Stone's report.
